thefictionvixens Chapter 13: None of them are good people
Chapter 13: None of them are good people
After listening to the grain merchant Duke's description, Raphael pinched his cat ears and smiled somewhat mockingly, "Only I can 'uphold justice' for you?"
"Then why didn't you seek my help from the beginning?"
Duke said somewhat awkwardly, "I... at first, I didn't know how to ask you for help."
Raphael Collins smiled and said, "No need to explain, I know you're afraid of getting involved with the mob and owing me a favor."
Raphael had clearly voiced Duke's true thoughts, and the grain merchant rose even more hastily, saying, "Sir Collins, if you can kill those two men and help me recover my 1200-pound investment, I can pay you a large sum of money."
At this moment, Carter, who had been sitting in a chair to the side, suddenly stood up and said angrily, "Boss, let me hang this rude guy up and beat him up!"
Grain merchant Duke was startled, but clearly didn't quite understand where he had gone wrong. He stood there at a loss for words.
Raphael chuckled somewhat maniacally, waved to Carter, then put the cat on his lap onto the desk, stood up, and asked Duke, "Mr. Duke, what did I do to offend you that made you so disrespectful?"
"We've only just met, and you're asking me to kill someone?"
Duke's hands trembled slightly: "Mr. Collins, I didn't mean any disrespect. I... I just... I just didn't know how to express my respect for you."
Audrey, standing nearby, remarked, "A calm madman is indeed more difficult to deal with than a calm person or a madman, because it's hard to predict when he will go crazy, and it's also hard to detect when he is hiding his anger."
If this conversation is viewed as a confrontation, then Mr. Duke has been completely outmaneuvered by Raphael.
"It's simple." Raphael approached Duke. "I hope you're here to make friends, not to bribe a killer to commit murder."
"And from the moment you walked in until now, you have never called me Godfather."
"Make friends?" Duke was somewhat surprised, but quickly realized, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm here to do."
Then he solemnly took Raphael's right hand, kissed the back of his hand, and respectfully called him "Godfather."
Raphael nodded in satisfaction: "We're not assassins, and we won't help you collect debts, but we can help you vent your anger."
He patted Duke on the shoulder: "And you can use my reputation to intimidate your competitors."
"But at some point in the future, when I need your help, you must do your best to assist me."
"Of course, that time may never come."
Duke finally smiled: "It's my pleasure."
Raphael grunted in agreement, indicating that Duke could go back and wait for news.
Only Raphael, Carter, and Audrey remained in the room. Raphael said to Carter, "Go and prepare, take four or five reliable subordinates with you. I will go there myself."
He glanced at Audrey and then smiled, "Let the newcomers participate in this operation as well."
If any official extraordinary individuals discover this place in the future, the fact that Godfather Raphael took action today will be enough to mislead them once again.
As for bringing Audrey along, it was because Raphael would only feel at ease if she was always within his sight.
"Yes." Carter immediately went out to prepare.
Audrey cautioned, "This grain merchant wasn't telling the truth on some issues."
"Of course I know." Raphael smiled. "Since the Grain Act was enacted, a large number of grain merchants have gone bankrupt. Grain merchants like Duke, who not only did not go bankrupt but also made a fortune, are not law-abiding citizens."
Audrey was taken aback: "You...you know he lied about some things? Then why did you get involved in this?"
Raphael went to the bookshelf, poured himself a glass of wine, took a small sip, and said, "Duke's rival, Holm, did indeed conspire with Logan to set a trap for him, and in terms of bribing judges, Holm and his group were clearly more generous."
He paused, then continued, "As for why I should help Duke? They're cunning businessmen, and we're a gang; neither of us are good people. Why can't I get involved?"
Audrey was initially surprised; she hadn't expected Raphael to so readily admit he was a bad person. Then, she asked, somewhat astonished, "You received advance notice?"
Because Raphael's description of Duke and others was very confident, it didn't sound like he was guessing.
Raphael took another sip of his drink: "With enough knowledge of this kind of person, it's easy to deduce such things."
Audrey fell into a brief moment of contemplation. She suddenly realized a problem: she had indeed observed Duke lying, but she couldn't determine which of his statements were lies.
The reason this happens is that I don't have a sufficient understanding of human nature!
It's clear that Duke fell into his opponent's trap and then fell into a kind of self-hypnosis, believing that he was a law-abiding citizen who was taken advantage of, while the other party used unfair competitive methods and was a complete bad guy.
This self-hypnosis made Duke believe that he was a law-abiding person, so when he made the corresponding descriptions, he did not think that he was lying.
So Audrey observed the contradictory results, and at this point, she needed to use her experience to judge which were the truths and which were lies.
However, the advantage of being an "audience member" is incomparable to that of ordinary people. Audrey doesn't need to have a wealth of life experience; she only needs to have this concept to make accurate judgments next time.
After preparing the manpower, Raphael did not take immediate action, but instead sent his subordinates to conduct a brief investigation into the grain merchant named Holm.
After learning that the other party only had a certain relationship with a city councilor, he decisively led his men to the other party's grain company. Carter and his men led the way menacingly, and before the company's employees could react, a Mafia henchman had already kicked open the door to Holm's office.
This is Raphael's usual tactic: once he starts, he must act quickly to catch the opponent off guard and save himself a lot of trouble.
A flicker of panic crossed the eyes of Holm, a man in his forties with thinning hair: "Gentlemen, you..."
Carter skillfully led a few of his men to lift the other man from his chair and bring him before Raphael.
At the same time, one of his subordinates took out the other man's wallet and handed all the banknotes inside to Raphael.
Raphael put away the money and smiled, "We brought you our blessings on behalf of Mr. Duke."
Holm exclaimed in shock and anger, "That bastard Duke..."
Carter punched Holm in the stomach, causing the balding, suited grain merchant to cry out in pain and crouch down on the ground, clutching his stomach.
Then Carter took out a small iron hammer and said to his subordinate, "Help him up."
"Let me do it." A hint of madness flashed in Raphael's eyes: "I love the sound of bones breaking."